Montreal Gazette

Cosmetics firm sold; we sit down with its founder

A Q&A with Quebec cosmetics icon Lise Watier, who will speak at the APEX 2016 business leadership conference in Montreal

- TRACEY LINDEMAN

Lise Watier needs no introducti­on to Quebecers.

Her eponymousl­y named cosmetics brand has for decades been a mainstay in Quebec pharmacies and department stores — not bad for someone who grew up in Hochelaga-Maisonneuv­e with little more than her parents’ love.

She launched her own makeup line in 1972 after spending part of the 1960s administer­ing beauty advice on Quebec television and then later, at her own school. She ran the business for decades until she and her husband, Serge Rocheleau, retired from running the day-to-day operations of the company in 2013.

Now 73, Watier is an officer of the Order of Canada, a grand officer of the Ordre national du Québec and has taken her place in history as one of Canada’s leading businesswo­men.

Since retiring from her company, she has shifted her focus onto the Lise Watier Foundation while also working on her and her husband’s new Quebec-made vodka, Quartz. Her life and work has also been detailed in a documentar­y and online book. She now splits her time between Montreal and Miami Beach, where she renovates and flips condos.

Montreal Gazette contributo­r Tracey Lindeman spoke to Lise Watier ahead of her appearance at the APEX 2016 business leadership conference, taking place Feb. 24 at the Bell Centre.

Q What have you been doing since you retired from running your company?

A I have a foundation that takes a lot of my time, the Lise Watier Foundation to help women in need. Women who are suffering and accepting the unacceptab­le is related to the lack of financial security. I’m trying with the foundation to promote the financial independen­ce of women — helping them go back to school, helping them to find a job, helping them to find new skills so they can become financiall­y independen­t. For me it’s the only freedom a woman can have.

There’s a lot of violence. We see women have been getting up the ladder in life, but still there are too many women with their children who suffer in silence that we don’t even know about.

Q How did you develop this interest in and dedication to promoting women’s independen­ce?

A I am proof that when you get out on your own, the quality of your life is better in many many ways — not only on the financial side, but also in the peace and fulfilment of your life.

When I see women being victims in their own house, and their children see their mothers as victims ... we’re all touched by children in need, but when a child is in need, his mother is in need, also.

I was born in a very modest environmen­t in Hochelaga-- Maisonneuv­e, so I was brought up with nothing but love. No bicycles, no skis, no roller skates, nothing, and I was very happy. But I know that it’s terrible for a mother to have to say no her child. Many mothers have to say, “No, I can’t buy you this.” When you see mothers having to choose between paying the rent and buying a snowsuit for her child who wants to play in the snow — these are things you don’t see, but I know it exists.

Q What was it like for you to start and run a business as a young woman in Quebec?

A I had a dream and I just worked for it to come through. At first I was working on daily shows on television. One day someone called and said: “It’s thanks to me you have such a success.”

I said, “Oh yes? I think my success is because of my dedication and passion.” If I succeed it will be my success, and no one else will take the credit for it.

I first opened a school — selfimprov­ement classes, in those days — and it helped me to get a more profound knowledge of women on a one-to-one basis, and that’s how I launched my own company.

I just followed what I had to do. I’m a missionary somehow — to help women feel good, to help women feel beautiful. It’s a close relationsh­ip between feeling good and feeling beautiful. This gave me the basic knowledge to be able to give women what they were expecting, and this is how I built my company.

It starts with a dream and it starts with the will to make things happen and to make things change.

Q Did you think, when you started your company, that it would turn into this?

A I never thought of numbers — I only thought of creating something that women would love and would need. The financial part and the number of employees, they have always been a consequenc­e to my creativity and to my will to make things beautiful. I never thought of the size, I just grew with it. But every morning I wanted to conquer the world.

Q The market for high-quality makeup has exploded in recent years — you can see the trend in the popularity of stores like Sephora. How have you remained competitiv­e?

A I think it’s creativity and quality. I think creativity, because it has to be exciting, it has to be fun. I love to create. And the quality was a factor. If you buy a product once and you don’t like the quality, you forget about this company. We’re the number-one cosmetic line at Jean Coutu — this is not happening because it’s my name. This is happening because it’s the quality, it’s the creativity, it responds to women’s needs.

Q What are some benchmarks in your career you’re most proud of?

A First, my family — my children, my husband, my grandchild­ren. It’s number one. Then, launching a company when nobody believed in it. I was so sure it would work I never asked myself whether it would. I’m so proud of taking this decision. The high tides and low tides — I survived everything.

I think the perfume Neiges was such a success. I had a fire first in 1990; that was a tragic moment, but I learned a lot from it. Then we had the launch of Neiges in 1993. It was the biggest perfume launch in the history of Canada — this is something to be proud of.

I’m proud of being a person that has created jobs where a lot of women have successful­ly achieved something. That makes me proud, to see a lot of women who have had careers. I’m proud of that.

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 ?? APEX 2016 ?? Since retiring in 2013, Lise Watier is focusing on her foundation, which helps women in need.
APEX 2016 Since retiring in 2013, Lise Watier is focusing on her foundation, which helps women in need.

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